


this sound is all that lingers

by sun_incarnate



Category: The Boyz (Korea Band)
Genre: Canon Compliant, M/M, No Dialogue, Pining, been read and reread by a friend n i n it's fine so i guess that counts as beta idk, but only bc there are danceprac scenes and slight dorm life, is it ensemble if the others are only mentioned omfg msorry tbz
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:21:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24258817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sun_incarnate/pseuds/sun_incarnate
Summary: thunderclaps resounding, a storm is what it took for them to happen.
Relationships: Bae Joonyoung | Jacob/Moon Hyungseo | Kevin
Comments: 19
Kudos: 75





	this sound is all that lingers

-

  
  
  
  
  


_bang!_

  
  
  


and kevin's watching everything—his hand pale on jacob's cheek, jacob's eyes in the storm lackluster, jacob's lips parted glistening white, the leather seat beneath jacob camera-flash blank—be drained of colors. it's all in slow motion, the way kevin sees lightning flashing on the other side of the window and taking every hue with it. he sees the slow dwindling of it all the same time thunder echoes all around the emptiness of his head like an endless screensaver. there's nobody but the both of them that exist, here inside a car stranded underneath a thunderstorm with a greater one churning in jacob's eyes. _watery grave._

everything else smells like sharp rain, and kevin's realizing that much of the smell he must have just imagined from the way water pounds on the windows. there's no other way, not when he's getting drunk over jacob and this vanilla scent that seems to follow him everywhere. ghosting, it's snaking over every inch of kevin's skin left exposed. soft. it's taking his all to not let himself go heady over feelings.

kevin's thinking sailors stormed on, thinks of a fairytale prince near-drowned by rain atop seas, thinks that drowning in rainwater can't really be as bad an idea as everybody else seems to think-

  
  
  
  


_bang!_

  
  
  


and kevin meets jacob's eyes, startled back to focus by the gunshot echoing from the action movie eric picked for movie night. there's a not-pillow softness below kevin's head, and he sits up to try and make sense of everything that's happening. he's now scooted off to the other side of the couch. kevin looks sideways, and jacob's tilted his head to the side, enough for kevin to wonder if it's some sort of question or he's just plain looking at him. kevin stares back, figures he can't do much but return it, until jacob looks away to bring his attention back to the movie. everything's fine, dandy even, but jacob averts his eyes from the hero-kisses-rescued-damsel moment unfolding on the screen _. romancing._

the light glimpsing from the kitchen around the corner's inviting headache-bass, and kevin stands up to stretch stiff limbs before turning it off. he looks back to the space he's vacated, surprisingly devoid of blankets considering how cold it should've been when he's wearing a sleeveless shirt. younghoon takes his place, wrapped in a soft blanket. kevin runs fingers over his skin and finds patches of varying temperatures. odd. his shoulders feel cool, but his arms and hands feel warmer than what should be the average body temperature.

kevin's back and sitting down beside the television, choosing to not face its glaring light. looking across, kevin continues to stare long after his eyes have adjusted to the now dark of the living room. younghoon offers a shoulder for jacob to lean on, and kevin doesn't know why but he keeps staring at jacob and the way the light from the movie slopes the hollow of his throat-

  
  
  
  


_bang!_

  
  
  


and kevin winces at the sound, bending down as he picks up the water bottle he's dropped on the floor, some fair distance from jacob's right ear. jacob looks like he's too exhausted to be startled, lying on the floor letting his body be cooled by air-conditioning. he seems too tired to move and can't even sit up and drink the water kevin's offering him. jacob's closing his eyes and swallows nothing instead, kevin sits beside him and cards fingers through sweat-damp hair. a breath hitches, then returns to normal, then it's heartbeats increasing their pace on the skin sticking close to kevin's. _thundering._

the cold vinyl of the floor can't be any good for them when they've got worn muscles to worry about, but kevin chooses to lean back and lie down. jacob faces him and attempts to sit up, reaching for the bottle on kevin's hand. cap unscrewed, bottle now half-full. jacob's pressing the still-cold bottle right to the loud pulse on kevin's neck. he wonders if jacob's feeling the beats through water and plastic. 

kevin's urged up by changmin, and so is jacob. another routine of correcting choreography positions, and kevin tracks jacob through the mirrors, awed by the distance he's crossed in such little time. jacob's across the room and kevin's left with such strong want-

  
  
  
  


_bang!_

  
  
  


and kevin's raising his head, seeing jacob apologetic over a slammed door. he sits beside kevin and there's a phone and an earbud each for them. kevin's playing the guitar on his own before, but now he's trying to match chords to the song they're listening to. jacob's humming to the song as he's eating gummy bears from the snacks he's brought, and he's offering the opened packet to kevin. he looks at jacob, not breaking eye contact as he reaches. _saccharine._

he wants to at least finish the song before eating, not wanting sugar crystals on his fingers while he's strumming. jacob stays still, hand still offering sweets. he's stopped humming, eyes on kevin's fingers moving across frets pressing strings. slide, hammer, pluck, strum. minutes and the song ends. jacob's out of his trance quicker than kevin, yet again offering sweets with his hand.

kevin's taken one, something yellow and tasting like sugared lemons. he takes another, and another, until he looks down and notices he's holding something probably strawberry-sweet and looking a lot like jacob's pink petal lips-

  
  
  
  


_bang!_

  
  
  


and kevin's watching jacob watching fireworks, glow touching everything aflame. they're at the balcony, midnight, shared blanket, and jacob wanted to count the colors. reds in his right hand, blues in his left. _what do you do when it's violets,_ kevin asks. jacob's adjusting the blanket to cover both his shoulders and kevin lets a corner of the fabric fall to uncover one of his. most meager sacrifice. jacob turns to him and suddenly everything's awash in pale purple, lavender. jacob brings his hands together in one soundless clap and they turn to fists when they separate. back to nothing. _zeroes._

the show stops for a few moments, letting them fill the night with misting breaths in place of exploding stars. it's when kevin begins to suspect that they're suspended in time when a resounding boom echoes all around, followed closely by more like some form of morse code. kevin turns back to the sky and sees yellows and oranges and heat scattering temporary stars. out of the corner of his eyes he sees jacob look at him, his hands still tight fists, reddening in the night chill. 

kevin's moving his hand to touch jacob's, settling on providing warmth with the barest touch of their skin. the sky's alight with yellows and greens. springtime. there's nothing red or blue, but he feels jacob's fist unfolding, pinky finger unfurling to hook against the one on kevin's hand-

  
  
  
  


_bang!_

  
  
  


and kevin's head snaps towards the sound of a son's ball hitting a father's gloved hand, meters away from where he's offering a packet of tissues to jacob before taking one for himself, removing excess oil and takeout chicken crumbs from his fingers. he takes out the stationeries he's pocketed before leaving the dorms. dusk heralds stars across inking skies, and jacob's rummaging through their bag for a blanket before kevin's even thought of words to describe the way starlight mirrors on the river's surface. _do you think they'll be seen from the riverbed,_ and kevin looks to the stars in answer to jacob's raised eyebrow. he's glad that the other chose to look up, now wanting to write of the stars reflected on the dark waters of jacob's eyes. _silvered._

it's well past sunset and they're staying still. picnics go interrupted all around them, and jacob's smiling soft amidst city lights. the blanket's taken from the bag, sitting between the two of them still folded. kevin should have been feeling the cold by now, should have been feeling the chill, but his hands stay holding pen and paper still. kevin's looking for words, like always, and it takes him a few minutes of vain searching for them before staying his gaze on jacob. he needs to let out thoughts fast.

kevin's looked down to the pen in his hand, then to the paper in the other. the question unanswered but he doesn't mind. he's touched the nib to the first lines and he's watching the ink bleed and spread, feeling jacob's arm stretching around him to share the blanket-

  
  
  
  


_bang!_

  
  
  


and kevin looks up, seeing jacob wince in silence while rubbing a reddening forehead. kevin could only assume that jacob's head had fallen from where it's perched atop his hand before kevin closed his eyes. jacob looks at him through squinted eyes, still clearly in pain. they'll have the kitchen for themselves for another few hours pre-dawn, and kevin beckons the other closer. jacob crosses his arms atop the table and rests his head on them, a couple or two inches closer to kevin. jacob's humming along the sound of his fingers drumming softly to the staccato rhythm of kevin soothing his forehead, and kevin's other hand moves, calloused fingers forming guitar chords against the tabletop. _euphony._

eyes closed, there's a small smile gracing jacob's lips. he looks incredibly soft under the dull lighting of their kitchen. kevin's forgotten what they came here for, and why it's the both of them. why now, why here, why everything. but it's probably kevin restless with reoccurring warm thoughts. he can't say he knows what's jacob's.

kevin's not entirely sure what's happening or what this is that feels a lot like warmth leaking from somewhere deep in his chest, just that he'd like to make music out of everything jacob does-

  
  
  
  


_bang!_

  
  
  


and kevin's hearing bass reverberating through the walls while lifting his hand from where it's touching sunwoo's, a clean repetition of the detail in the choreography required. the others are behind him as he moves out of the formation, juyeon following forward while bending his body to the beat, but it's jacob he finds through the mirror once he's standing still. kevin's watching as jacob tilts his head, arms following upwards after, waving in this slow aching. another beat, haknyeon's hips smooth over the rhythm of the song, and kevin's back to the formation. they finish a routine, then another one, and another still. it's past midnight when they finish and it's taking everything from them to continue. _immolation._

all of them collectively go through copious amounts of water during practices, any other drink a sin besides the sneaked-in coffee to make them stay awake. there's bottles lined up against the mirror they monitor themselves with; empty, half-full, fill, refilled.

kevin's already emptied the bottle of water he's holding to his lips but he doesn't realize it. across the room jacob's alone dancing to his part in the song, rhythms slowed to help his body capture the feel of it. so his dance goes unhurried, the utterly-heartbreaking face he makes to accompany it lasting in kevin's memory far more than the time it takes him to take another full water bottle and bring it to his lips-

  
  
  
  


_bang!_

  
  
  


and kevin's holding jacob against him, caging his arms around the other as jacob shakes. hyunjae's nudged the popcorn bowl upturned with his foot when the devil appears on-screen and nobody's fixing the mess, sangyeon asking for chips somewhere behind them. jacob's holding chanhee's hand over kevin's knee, covering his eyes with the other. kevin remembers the movie just starting, jacob leaning against him just the same but braving the promise of that something wicked glinting in changmin's eyes. ten minutes into the movie and there's red eyes tracking the protagonist, jacob by then tracing patterns across kevin's skin. gentle. _ghosting._

now he's returning the favor, languid in his own finger-drags over jacob's skin. there's a shadow following the protagonist on screen, and jacob releases chanhee's hand in favor of covering both his ears when there's ear-splitting screams echoing from the movie. the thrill subsides soon after that, as is the usual after every jump-scare kevin's ever witnessed. jacob's moved unbeknownst to him and is pushed against kevin now, head burrowed deep unto the curve of his neck.

kevin's skin has goosebumps all over, and he has to pretend that it's because of the movie when jacob notices and smiles at him-

  
  
  
  


_bang!_

  
  
  


and kevin's watching everything—distant night lights diluted sunlight on jacob's skin, ruby pendant against jacob's throat blood red, the jacket he's wrapped around jacob deep blue, jacob's makeup barely masking the blush of his cheeks—get their colors back together after the flash of lightning accompanying what he hopes to be the last clap of thunder for the night. kevin doesn't know how they'd ended up like this, him against jacob who's leaning against the window of the car. kevin's waiting for jacob to look at him in the eyes and be the first to tell him if there's anything going on between the both of them. so kevin's heard a quiet _me too, i like you too_ not even a minute after he's laid his feelings bare. so jacob's not done anything that might say he doesn't like it when kevin leans forward way too far into his space to be considered _just affectionate._

but kevin needs jacob to look him in the eyes and say that he's been wanting to kiss kevin too-

  
  
  


kevin doesn't know how it happens, only that there's another lightning flashing and jacob's suddenly meeting him halfway. never mind the flush kevin feels creeping up his neck, never mind the way he can feel his ears heating up. never mind the fact that everything's lightning white when jacob's started kissing him and that he doesn't see a thing when his heart matches its beats to the sound of thunder rampaging against the walls of his head.

never mind all of that, because jacob's kissing him and seems to want this as much as he does and that—jacob's hand snakes around kevin to hold him by the back of his neck-

and that the thunder's a few minutes gone but there's still warmth pressed against him. 

  
  
  
  
  


_bang!_

  
  
  


and kevin's opened the door to the dorm, loud as the thunder he feels echoing everywhere still. everybody's at the kitchen, evident in the smell of what's probably a second pot of ramyun on the stove and the shouts as the youngest ones fight over the last glazed drumstick. changmin sticks his head around the corner, neck stretching and eyes widening as his gaze shifts from kevin and jacob's faces to their entwined hands. _entangled._

  
  


there's a whistle-like squeal loud even over the thunders, and jacob's dragging kevin by the hand, warm through all the rain they've soaked up to reach home.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> this is my first completed au so i think it deserves to be the first im posting here 
> 
> also !! thank you for reading !!!
> 
> [my twt!](https://mobile.twitter.com/jjukyus) [my curiouscat!](https://curiouscat.qa/kyuisms)


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